In a statement, the department said: “The raw material from Poland is the source of equine DNA content in certain beef burgers."

Coveney said that tests on samples taken from Irish ingredients had come back negative, and said he was“pleased that the integrity of Irish food production was maintained.”

The company will commence a deep cleansing of the plant under new management and will submit to a six month period of direct scrutiny by government inspectors, after which it will be reviewed.

The Department will carry out weekly sampling of production in order to provide the necessary reassurance to its customers on the integrity of the production chain, including a commitment to source all its raw material from Ireland and the UK.